Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I always say I’m not a baker, but I can make a mean muffin. Case in point, these peanut butter banana and chocolate chip beauties I whipped up yesterday.

If there’s time for me to make a homemade snack of some sort, it’s telling that I probably had a nice and relaxing Sunday. I would rather eat something like this over a store-bought bar 100 times over. And yes, sometimes the pre-packaged stuff is a total lifesaver but from a satisfaction perspective I think these rule. And, when I control what goes in, I always try to cram in as much healthy stuff as I can so they are more “fiber” and less “cake for breakfast”. But hey, if you want to eat cake for breakfast, you go!

These particular muffins were inspired by one of my favorite banana bread recipes via MyRecipes.com. It’s a peanut butter laden version that has crushed peanuts in the batter and a peanut butter glaze that gets drizzled on at the end (my dream recipe?). I love the way it calls for using Greek Yogurt, flax and nut butter which sets it apart from other banana bread recipes I’ve tried. If making for a special event like brunch with friends, you can add the glaze but the bread itself is great and can stand alone too. 

As I mentioned above, when prepping something for snacks and/or breakfast throughout the week, I usually make some substitutions for a more nutrient-dense and filling end product. Basically I need something that’s going to hold me over for more than an hour at work. On a side note, I always have a ridiculous amount of overripe bananas in my freezer that need to be used, so recipes like this can somewhat help with that. 

Since muffins are portable, don’t require slicing in the morning (how is it possible that so many crumbs come off of one loaf, btw) and also take less time to bake, I almost always opt for baking muffins over a loaf. Even better if you have the little paper cups to line the pan which cuts down on clean up time. I thought I had some, but actually only had four left so had to opt for the more “rustic” look with these. 

Anyways I think they turned out really delicious and also came together fast. They are best eaten within two days so I always freeze half for later and then we can pull them out and warm them up for a quick breakfast on the go along with some protein and fruit later. They are the perfect combo of hearty and sweet and I can already picture how well they will pair with an iced coffee.